Underreamer for oil-wells and the like.



` i l 'VL IVI. LEWIS, D'ECD. A.,LEW|S. ADMINISTRATRIX.

UNDERREAMER FOR o|L WELLS AND THE LIKE.

- APPLICATION FILED FEB. 26, |915. 1

` Patented Mar. 14, 1916.

Torvllughomfitmay cocerm t y i u Be it` knownthat LMoBoANldEWrs, acitizenlogtheiUnited States, residing at Sawtelle; i" "theounty ofLosAngeles and State a ernia,- `have vented anew and use kyUnderreamers,for Oily vvhich the `:following is aspeeicatingf i r l n vMy invention; relatesjsto Well drilling tools nd hasorits object theprovision of an `under'eanieralapted to befinserted in the `reaming` outthe hole below the lower end of i 'the casngito permit thecasing to belowered inthe Well from time `totiine as thedrill-ing progresses;` i Ilam awarelthatpatents have een granted* upon` devices 1 `for this purposendl that rthe articles are now in :commercial seybut-theprimaryobject'of my device is o`ji1nprovethe`l method `of reaniing` out theellyholesywith" the provision of a device ca vpabley of .heavy duty andabsolutely positive ation.` "Asource offtroubleinsome of` the elllmowhftypesfo'f reainers" consists in the `1 ailureof the springs"by`which `they are eld `in tensionk when in use to `guarantee a uttersp andfurther, inasmuch as `most `of he` Well knovvn types are `verycomplicated, 1 a `great dealfof? trouble is encountered in theirperatiompthus causing delays',` in the work `and 1 In little` Yahnoyance1 to'` "the operators. tothe above` `features vthe Work 'sinot grally-#perfoined in a proper or `L satisfabtory mannenfand itjrllisthefobject of Kmypresent inventiontoprovide a tool free"lironiftheobjectionable features `above noted land capable of constantand `satisfactory vork under 'all conditionsJ r jmOther'f objeetsinayappear f in `the descrip- "qtionfolloyvingil v i L Referringto"` the drawings in? which simi- Alar characters of reference indicatethe vsaine parts throughout theseveralwig'ures, `Figure lvifsan-`elevation of reanier,`partly shown in section in positionin aWellicasing; Fig. 2 `is asectional `.el i1 fthe` saine with )thecuttersiexpanded` an the" tool body and casing insection; Figs 3 isarsectional ele- 1 vation oFig. 2 at rightangles thereto; Eig.

41 sy a seotional'plan'on the line 141-4,- Figg `2 y Eig.k is f asectional plan' on y the.- line Torf-f5', l Figr2; Fig pisalview; ofavvrenchfor con aftracting the cutters `#when y lower thereinthe"1psasirig` v V p Specification `of Letters Patent. `Laimitation medFebruary aa, 1915. serial No. 12,223.

ellvvthroughfthe driyeipipefor casing for` roper and ,reliable actionatfall times of the Ti-ED 4s'rafrus raranfr oratori;

onsan'ipnws, or savv'rELnE, aannemers; ANN Lewis anrerms'rnarsarx orsain t i. y l nonGANLEWIsnnonasEn l -l oir-WELLS .aun THE um. il

rammed Maa-1a. tera `The exterior of the tool body 1 is of the4 usualforni but the lower end. thereof has a socket 2 *lorrned therein,extending upwardly for a convenient distance and a pocket 3 lis formedin 'the upper end of the socket. A pair of cutters e and 5, exactlyalike in form and function5 have the stems 6 and 7 extending upwardly inthe socket 2 of the body and the'cutters 8 and 9 at their lower ende`The forni of the cutters is best shown in Fig. il. The cuttersarepivotally mounted on a holt 10 having a head 11 and a square nut 12on the opposite end from y the head, and this bolt is slidablevertically in the body 1 by means of slots 13 which are countersunk toreceive the head and nut of the bolt. The cutting portions Sand 9 of thecutters 4 and `5 are of semifcircular cross `section and conform to theperiphery of the body 1, shoulders lll and 15 being provided 75 belowthe end of the body and the steine `6 and 7 being tapered from theapproximate size ofthe socket 2 on the axial lineto the upper ends inorder to provide sufficient clearance for the free movement of the stems8o When-the cutting ends are contracted as l showniu Fig. 1 Diagonalgrooves 16 and 1'( are formed in the side of the stems G and `'inWhichfis placed the ends 18 and 19 o the spring 20, the central portionoiE this spring being bent around the bolt l0 and the lo\ver,ends oitthe grooves conforming `to the shape of the spring. up

The spring 20 serves 'to hold 'the upper ends of the Sterns in contactand? the cutting ends expanded and when the cutting ends rest upon thebottoniv of the Well orany firm surface, lthe upper ends of the stemsare forced upwardly into the pocket 3 at the end oi `the socket 2, wherethey will reinain irmiy locked in position until the pressure on thebody is released or until the cutters are pulled outwardly `troni thesocket. The Ystroke orv the body in the realning operation forces theshoulders 14 and 15 against the lower end of the body and thus presentsan unyielding surface to take the shock of the stroke. a When the toolis Vto be inserted in the 'casing for the purpose of reaxning out thehole, the forni of Wrench shown in Fig. 6, orlany other suitable fornimay be used to casing, the ring 'portion' 21 of the Wrench `loelngforced dowuvvardly` over 'the body 1 110 I and over the cutters bygrasping thehandle 22, and the cutters placed in the upper end .of thecasing, Where they may be lowered in the casing in the usual manner. As

'5 shown in Fig..1when the tool is in the casing, the lower ends of thecutters frictionally engage the Wall of the casing 23 .until the botto-mthereof has been reached,

When they will automatically expand to the 4 limit of their movement, inwhich case the distance across the cutting points Will ex- -ceedslightly the diameter lof the casing, so wthat the latter may be easilylou-'ered into the ho-le thus produc/ed. A l

In order to contract the cutters, it is necessary that the upper ends beWithdrawn from the' pocket 3, and this is accomplished by the movementof the cutters downwardly y in the pocket 2 which is permitted by themovement of the bolts 10 in the slots 13, the upper ends'of the cuttersin such case assuming positions against. the Walls of the.

. pocket 2, as shown in Fig. l. l It frequently occurs, When the'reame'ris "being inserted in the casing that the cutters 8 .and 9 which arecontracted and frictionally engage the Wall of the casing in theirdescent inthe Well, will slightly expand beyond the inner Wall of thecasing at a joint and stick against the upper Aend of a casing section.In order to prevent suchan occur- `rence in the use of my device, Itherefore p provide grooves 24 on the rounded outer portions ofthe-,cutters 9 and 10, in which before the tool is inserted in thecasing, a -Wire 25 may be placed and twisted one 0r more` turns at theends to hold the cutter points contracted sufliciently so that ythey maynot touch `the end of the casing as described. This Wire will not inanyway prevent or hinder the tool being lowered in'v the casing and whenthe bottom of the Well is reached one or two strokes of the too-l willsuliciently expand-the cutters to breakthe Wire and render the cuttersready for service,

`i and the cutters l and vfItis to be observed that my device con-Y thebody 'l sists o'f only three main parts,

5, and the latter may be readily removed from .the body for the purposeofy sharpening by turning the bolt 10 with a screwdriver and thusreleasing it from the nut 12 Whichis held from turning by' making thecounters'unk portion of the 'slot in which it is 'seated square asshown. l

lstructure of my invention, that a thoroughly practical and positivereamer is hereby providedwthe device is free l.from small and delicateparts, the structure of the' entire mechanism .is massive and vcapableof the lIt is lobvious from the considerationv ofthe 'foregoingdescriptiony of the operation and'- `heaviest duty, the absence ofAsprings to accomplishl the drilling enhances its efficiency, and agreat economy may be effected byits use.

Having thus'described my invention, what I claim as new and desireLetters Patentl i for, is1- 1. An underreamer for oil Weils and the-likeincluding an integral recessed tool body having a pocket attheupper end thereof, a

pair ofexpansible cutters movable pivotally-and slidably therewithin ona common axis, andlperipheral springs seated in and extending around theaxis o-f the cutters for holding the cutters normally-expanded beyondthe peripheral line of the Well casing,

fthe upper ends of the cutters being seated in said pocket whenthecuttei's are so ex?v panded.

2. An underreamerfor oil` Wells andthe like including an integralrecessed' tool body having a pair of commonly held cutters Within andmovable longitudinally and p1votally in the body together with theiraXis and means in the periphery ofthe cutters midway of their length forholding the cut ters normally expanded and Vmeans Withinthe body forlocking the cutters in their. expanded relation.

, 3. An underreamer for oil Wells and the like including an integraltool body having a socket' therewithin and a pocket at the end of thesocket, a pairl of cutters movable pivotally on a common aras andlongitudinally in the body with their axis, 'the stems of the cuttersextending into and seating in said pocket and the cutters vextendingbelow the body, and common means carried by and seated in the peripheryof said cutters for' holding the cutters normally expanded.

f '4. An underreamer for oil Wells and the ter axes at the center andextending diagonallyV of lthe cutters and upwardly into the socketseated in said cutters for holding the cutters normally expanded beyondthe peripheral line of the Well casing, saidy stems being adapted toseat yin vsaid pocket forv locking the cutters in 'their`z expandedstate,v

MORGAN LEWIS. Witnesses: .Y 1

Annie HARTENsmIN, 'Y LUTHER L. MACK.

ioo

